文學與人生 Dream sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.

"Messed-up Lawn" 被搞亂的草坪

source: http://www.cbhministries.org/kfk/home.php

Jordan went outside when he saw his friend Devin bouncing a ball in the driveway next door. "Hey, Devin!" called Jordan.

喬登走到屋外，看到鄰居迪文在車道上拍球。喬登打招呼:”嗨，迪文!”

"Hi," Devin called back. "Wanna play soccer? We'll have to play in your yard, though, because Dad spent two days reseeding our lawn-and guess what? My little brother Nat and his friends messed it all up again."

“嗨!”迪文也打招呼。”想玩足球嗎?但是我們必須在你們的後院玩，因為爹地花了兩天的時間重新在草地上播種-你猜發生什麼事?我的小弟納特和他的朋友又搞砸了。”

"How did they do that?" asked Jordan.

“他們作了什麼搗亂的事?”喬登問。

Devin laughed. "Oh, they thought they were helping by spreading more seeds. But they just trampled the part Dad had done and made a general mess of everything. It had to be done all over, and now Dad's ordered everybody to stay off it." Devin bounced the ball. "Can you play?" he asked again.

迪文笑。”喔，他們以為灑更多的種子是幫忙。但他們只是踐踏爹地已播種的草地，將所有的東西都弄糟了。一切都得重新開始，現在爹地要大家都不要插手。迪文拍著球又問，”你可以玩嗎?”

Jordan shook his head. "Not now. I gotta go to some old meeting at church," he said. "All we do is sing and listen to the preacher talk about stuff in the Bible. It's so boring! I'd much rather play soccer!" Hearing his father calling him from the porch, Jordan said goodbye and went to get in the car.

喬登搖頭。說:”現在不行，我必須參加教會老掉牙的聚會，我們只是唱詩及聆聽牧師說一些聖經裡的東西。真的很無聊!我還更想來踢足球呢!”聽見父親在門口叫他，喬登道別後坐進了車裡。

As they drove to church, Jordan told his parents about their neighbor's lawn. "Devin's dad worked so hard, but Nat ruined it. Their dad isn't too happy!"

在前往教會的路上，喬登告訴父母鄰居草坪發生的事情。說:”迪文的父親工作那麼辛苦，卻被奈特給破壞了。他們父親很不高興呢!”

"I know how he feels," answered Dad. "See . . . I've been working hard at planting seed, too, and I'm wondering if it's been messed up."

爹地回答說:”我知道他的感受，瞧…我也很努力在播種，現在正懷疑是否已被搗亂了。”

"You planted seeds?" asked Jordan. "Where?"

“你播種?”喬登問。”在哪裡?”

"Next door," replied Dad. "I've been planting the seed of the Word of God. I've been talking to Devin's father about the Lord for . . . oh, at least three years. He finally showed some interest last week, and he asked a lot of questions-and Devin asked some, too."

爹地回答。”隔壁鄰居，我已播種上帝的道,我向迪文的父親談論關於上帝…喔，至少三年了吧。他終於在上星期顯示有些興趣，問了我很多問題，迪文也問了一些。”

"Really!" exclaimed Jordan. He had no idea Devin was interested in God.

“真的!”喬登大叫。他完全不知道迪文對上帝有興趣。

"I heard you tell Devin that hearing a message from the Bible is boring," said Dad, "and I'm afraid that isn't going to help the 'seed of the Word' grow."

“我聽到你告訴迪文，聽聖經的信息是無聊的”,爹地說,”我很擔心這樣是否有助於”道的種子”的成長。”

Jordan was startled. "Oh . . . I . . . ah, I hope I didn't mess up what you planted, Dad," he murmured. "I'm . . . I'm really sorry." He hesitated. "Should I apologize to Devin, too?" he asked.

喬登受了驚嚇。說:”喔，我…這，我希望我沒有搗亂了你的播種，爹地”，他咕噥說:”我很…很抱歉”。有點遲疑,問說:”我是否也應該向迪文道歉呢?”

"That might be a good idea," said Dad. "And be sure to also talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you know what to say to convince Devin you were wrong."

“那也許是好主意”,爹地說。”也要確實告訴上帝，讓祂幫助你，知道該如何說服迪文你是錯的.”

HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you look for ways to plant the seed of the Word of God? Are you careful to not mess up what others have planted? Don't complain about church and Sunday school. Instead, share the things you enjoy about them. Don't show a lack of interest in God's Word. Instead, let others see ways in which it has helped you. Let them see unselfish, kind behavior as you live for the Lord. Your words and actions should help the seed of God's Word grow wherever it's been planted.

那麼你呢?

你是否在尋找播種”上帝之道”的方法?你是否小心翼翼不要搞砸他人已播的種子?不要埋怨教會及主日學，相反地，要分享你所擁有的。不要顯示你對神的話語缺乏興趣，卻要讓他人看到，你是如何因 神話語的幫助而得到益處。讓他們看到你為上帝而活，而表現出無私又仁慈的行為。你所說的話和一切行為，應該要幫助任何已撒種的上帝之道繼續成長茁壯。

TODAY'S KEY VERSE:
The seed is the word of God. Luke 8:11

今日重要經文:

種子就是　神的道

路加福音 8:11